Sweetwater Tropic Zone

Today I met my friend for lunch at a new'ish restaurant in downtown Boise, Sweetwater Tropic Zone. I have been DYING go to there since it opened but every time I try we always end up going somewhere else because of the prices. STUPID US!!! It is a bit more than other places, by at least a few dollars but honestly worth it. I ordered the Pulled Pork Sandwich which is honestly, hands down the best I have EVER had. And I do not tell lies about my food. I also ordered some Fried Sweet Plantains with sprinkled coconut and a slice of watermelon. The watermelon was a huge disappointment. I realize that it is January but I also assume that if you are going to put a slice of $2.50 watermelon on your menu in the dead of winter it dang well better be overnighted from Watermelon City. Bleh. Not only was it mushy and slimy but it had started to turn. Once I dried my eyes and cleared my throat I moved into the good stuff. I would eat rotten watermelon for a week straight in order to eat one meal at this place. It is that amazing. The pork was incredible. The sauce was sweet and smoky but there was something different about it. The bun was fresh-baked and soft and and and and. And you get another side of the sauce to dip your plantains in.

I have to say that if I wasn't such a pulled pork girl I would have had a hard time making my selection because EVERYTHING looked wonderbar. They had spicy avocado on jasmine rice with a spicy curry sauce, Cuban food, Island food and Polynesian wonderfulness. Oh help me Rhonda.

I honestly plan to return tomorrow. I kid not.

Run. Go now.

Chronic Taco - redeemed

I went to Chronic Taco in downtown Boise opening night in July. Wee Man and crew were there along with 200 kids dying for him to sign their skate boards. That night I ordered a Carne Asada burrito with cilantro lime rice and black beans. No bueno. It was dry and lacked flavor. They literally put one small stripe of salsa on it. BUT...after convincing from a fellow blogger I went back today. I ordered the Carnitas Tacos because she said they rivaled the Baja Fresh tacos. I laughed at the mention but gave it a whirl. They were delicious. Not quite Baja delicious but really, really good. They were larger and a bit pricier but also had cheese, cabbage, sour cream and guac which Baja does not. (I do prefer the simple taco at Baja). BUT, the flavors today were wonderful! Insanely greasy but I don't know what else to expect from Mexican food. I would highly recommend the tacos there. I have heard the fish tacos are TDF although I don't plan to try them. :) They do have a Machaca breakfast burrito which I have every intention of inhaling some morning. Three cheers for the Chronic! And three forks for that matter.

Costa Vida

My hubby and I stumbled on a tasty little gem located in Meridian named Costa Vida. It is a fantastic fresh mexican grill that offers tasty food at an even tastier price. All dishes are made from scratch, daily using only the freshest all-natural ingredients.

The restaurant itself has a great vibe. The staff are always super friendly and helpful. The place is always clean and the food is hands down my favorite fresh mex. To add to the chill vibe are countless TVs showcasing surfing shows, programs and documentaries.

Every time we go we order the same thing. I get the sweet pork enchilada with medium sauce and all rice, hubby gets two sweet pork enchiladas with medium sauce, rice and black beans and then we share an order of chips and queso. The queso is among my favorites I have to say.

I highly recommend you check the place out. They also have a handy dandy Costa Vida card that earns you points each time you dine with lovely rewards along the way.

Costa Vida
3340 North Eagle Road
Meridian, ID 83642
4 killer forks up!

The Tunnel Cafeteria - In Search of the Perfect Breakfast Burrito.

For some people the ideal breakfast consists of omelets, waffles or even bloody mary’s. For my BF it is the breakfast burrito. He is on a mission to find the best breakfast burrito of all time and seems happiest while eating them. His words “The breakfast burrito makes me feel lost in a sea of deliciousness.” I mean really they are all you could ever in a breakfast item and include the four basic food groups: Cheese, Grease, Fat and Processed Meat.

This quest is what led us to the creepy confines of the Boise tunnels this morning. BF had been to the little Cafeteria located in these tunnels before and was praising their breakfast burritos, so I agreed to check it out. There are underground tunnels beneath the capitol mall connecting the Capitol Building to the Supreme Court building and other government buildings. I believe the tunnels are only meant to be accessible by government employees, but we were able to sneak in through the staircase of one of the government buildings and enter the tunnel. I felt like we were on a secret mission, but no one ever escorted us out or anything. Ha.

This is a picture of the building where we entered - I don't have any pictures of the tunnel because the BF told me it could be considered terrorism :). The tunnels had really cool murals on the wall and we almost missed the Cafeteria because the sign was very small. However, we found the little hidden treasure decorated like a combination of my grandma’s living room and a dorm room cafeteria.

There were only about 3 other patrons in the restaurant and we were promptly greeted by a nice man who took our breakfast burrito order. Two small burreats – one with bacon, one with sausage only $3.50 each! We took our order to-go as we were concerned about being arrested (not really). Our server was very friendly and even thanked us for our business. Once we arrived safely to the car, we took a look at the burreats and realized they looked more like Quesadillas, but they still had the main staples of a breakfast burrito : Cheese, Tortillas, Eggs, Fried Hash browns, Bacon/Sausage. The BF said this about his:

“The breakfast burrito makes me feel lost in a sea of deliciousness. Today, I realized however that the sea was a little rough, and I might have to add some salsa to calm the gods. While it was delicious - and the sausage was cooked to perfection - the hash browns were a little too greasy and I needed to add some topping to balance the force.”

I found my extremely greasy and little plastic tasting. In fact, I think they were so greasy they should be labeled as a main ingredient in tanning oil. However, it was well worth the adventure.

The tunnel cafeteria gets 3 covert operation forks!

Location: I am unable to divulge.
Order: Small Breakfast Burrito with Bacon $3.50
Rating: 3 forks

Happy Tasting Boise,

Lindzee

That’s a wrap!

Tasty Pies

Located in the heart of Eagle, Flame is a great little pizzeria offering Neapolitan style pies.

I ordered up the lunch special as did my friend-- Classic pizza with a Caesar salad. The portions were perfect for a hungry lady which usually is my dining style. The waiter was very friendly and kept our drinks full and delivered our food fast. The pizza was a delight! Crispy crust, juicy sauce (but not too much) and delicious, toasted, yummy cheese galore. The salad was a typical Caesar and was good, but the home run with that dish was the toasted Parmesan cheese bread that accompanied it. I only wish it came with two instead of one!

The atmosphere of the restaurant was hard to judge as there were only a few of us dining at the time, but I did enjoy the open style kitchen and coziness of the place. I would be giving Flame a higher score if only their prices weren't so steep. For the "lunch special" it was $10, which is do-able but not a great price to be advertising as a special. I will definitely be going back to Flame for some din-din though, their pizza is a little slice of heaven.

Flame Neapolitan Pizzeria

228 E Plaza St # F

Eagle, ID 83616

3 delicious forks up!

34th Street Deli - Tit for Tat, a delicious and eclectic adventure

Heyo blogosphere! I know this writer's hiatus has been especially long and you probably have lost all hunger for life by now but here's a novel for the books. I was waiting to dine somewhere so special that the words would burst out of me like the salmon of capistrano and this week it happened. After a rousing tour through ye olde Costume shop on Chinden, fellow mostly-mexi-blogger Crissie and I made a right turn into sketchy motel city just blocks away. The parking lot was dimly lit on that rainy Wednesday but there was a beacon of light shining from the 34th Street Deli. Or was it a glint off the tattoo needle of the attached Tat Shop? One couldn't be sure.

Upon entering, I knew this was a true gem of our fine state. As I looked around the comic-strip covered walls for someone behind the counter, I spied a pint-sized face peering up at me. He greeted us kindly and asked what we would like to order. Wondering if we had stumbled accidentally into the Emerald City, I wondered why this 8 year old maitré-d wasn't attending to his studies. Nevermore, I spotted a rack behind me. Upon it sat the most glorious food in all the land! Boxes of REAL Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, Cup O'Noodles, and other sundries abounded with prices that would warm the coldest of hearts in this so-called recession. I promptly selected 2 of the $1 Mac & Cheeses (brand name!) and added them to my order as I noticed our young helper was precariously perched upon several well-placed milk crates to give him a better line of sight as he carefully took my order - pausing to ask me several questions about the customized nature of my sandwich to ensure the best possible outcome.

I got a tasty turkey on wheat, which was made by the friendly gentleman behind the counter. Here's how that went: remember when mom would make you a delicious turkey sandwich with all the fresh fixins and send you off to school with an I Love You post-it inside your lunchbox? That's what this was for me. Mini-worker informed us that he is home-schooled and this is his year-round gig while he ran my credit card like an old pro. Let me just say that this is the best service, hands-down, that I have gotten in some time. Friendly, thorough, adding of math correctly, and cute pinchy freckled cheeks to boot. Should you have time to dine-in, you will find yourself seated in the adjoining tattoo parlor. Mom's turkey sandwich while getting her moniker tatted on your netheregions? Just a thought. 4.5 Fourth Grade Forks!

Baja Fresh

Ok, I know we aren't supposed to write about chain restaurants but I think that every now and then one restaurant, although in every city across the globe, plays a melodic tune in your heart and deserves the recognition we would give a local mom and pop shop. This happened today at lunch. I had a cilantro lime love affair at Baja Fresh that left a burning passion in my heart. Ok...overboard but it was just SO good.

I ordered the standard which I rarely deviate from. Why mess with perfection? I got two pork tacos on corn tortillas with a mild salsa verde. Such a simple taco. Onion, moist and perfectly cooked pork, tangy salsa, cilantro and the juice of a lime squeezed over it. Each and every bite that I took I stared at my taco, shook my head at it and smiled with an "oh yooouuuuuuu" look. The only taco in my life that has ever even attempted to hold a torch to Baja Fresh was a taco that I got from a street vendor in Rocky Point, Mexico. Fortunately for Baja Fresh my mexican taco was made of head meat (Tacos de Cabeza) which gives the more familiar pork a head up. No pun intended.

Baja Fresh has an amazing salsa bar that makes me feel like a kid in a candy store. The chips are perfect and crispy. I don't know. I just think that it is an amazing place with all fresh food. It deserved a mention. Ole!



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